AIR SOUTHWEST review :  13 June 2009 : by R Anderson (UK)

Newquay to London City return. Both flights 90 minutes late due to earlier technical problems. Check in staff at LCY not good - lack of smiles and no seat selection. Cabin crew and service on both sectors good. This is the second time I have used this service and was delayed before. I wonder if Air Southwest are doing too many flights with too little aircraft ?

AIR SOUTHWEST review :  5 May 2009 : by Steve Garrett

Customer Rating : 3/5

Plymouth to LGW - we had boarded the aircraft which then suffered a pump failure as engines were being started. Sat on board as various engineers tinkered with the aircraft to be then told by the Captain that the aircraft was out of service. Luckily for us, there was a spare aircraft at Plymouth and we flew on to Gatwick via Newquay arriving less than one hour late. I do wonder if the fleet of DASH 8's is getting on a bit and suffering more technical problems than it should?

AIR SOUTHWEST review :  1 May 2009 : by P Dyer

Customer Rating : 1/5

Booked to Newquay from Bristol, but flown to Plymouth, then road transport. I paid for an onward rail-journey out of my own pocket in order to escape the ensuing chaos. Communication by ground staff wasn't poor - it was non-existent! Cabin-crew rather curt ("what are we supposed to do if aircraft goes tech in LBA etc"). Answer - pPerhaps maintain your aircraft better or get some more reliable ones. Preferably both. First flight with Air Southwest - possibly the last.

AIR SOUTHWEST review :  28 April 2009 : by R Anderson

Customer Rating : 3/5

Sunday evening flight from Newquay to London City via Plymouth. The flight was delayed one hour due to the late arrival of the incoming aircraft. Check in not asked if I would like a window or aisle, given a seat at the front. Had to ask for a seat of my choice near the back of the cabin. This was not the fault of the airline as they use a handling agent at Newquay and they seem to lack experience. Usual friendly and efficient cabin crew but due to the delay and the ground handling I can only give three stars at this time.

AIR SOUTHWEST review :  15 April 2009 : by R Anderson

Customer Rating : 5/5

0720 departure from Newquay to Gatwick left on time and arrived fifteen minutes early. Had a coffee and a cereal bar. Reasonable priced at £2.70. Cabin crew friendly and proffesional. You are not charged for extras, when you book this includes 20kg checked baggage and seat selection at check in. Now that BA have pulled off the route Air Southwest is the best between Newquay and Gatwick.

AIR SOUTHWEST review :  16 March 2009 : by E Ferguson

Customer Rating : 1/5

I booked a return trip Newquay to Gatwick when travelling from Heathrow to Australia, because my travelling companion wanted to do this, but my opinion was that the train would be less hassle. The outward trip was successful, although I had worries about whether it would fly if the weather was bad, as so many people told me they had had problems regarding this. On the return journey, I travelled all the way with other airlines with no problems regarding my baggage, until I reached Gatwick and checked in with Air Southwest. I had 3 bottles of wine in my hold baggage which put me a bit overweight, so they insisted I paid excess baggage even though the plane was not full. We waited a long time to board with no communication as to when we were taking off, and then once up in the air, the pilot said we would go to Plymouth, but we would then have to have a coach to Newquay because of fog. So I was charged excess baggage, which none of the other airlines did, and only flew for part of the journey. It would have been worse if it had happened on the outward journey with a longhaul flight to catch, but I just wish I had gone by train now, and I certainly won't fly Air Southwest again.

AIR SOUTHWEST review :  6 January 2009 : by Stephen Garrett

Customer Rating : 4/5

I have not always been kind to this airline, especially after having been dumped at Gatwick last summer due to a cancelled flight. But, I have flown with them a couple of times since and have had no problems whatsoever. You even get to see the same flight crew occasionally which is sort of comforting. However, flyBe are soon to fly Newquay to Gatwick and the fare is one third of that from Air Southwest. I know the prices will creep up in time but in this day and age, one has to seek the best deal from LGW to the West Country. I will be interested to see if Air Southwest respond and bring their prices down to match flyBe.

AIR SOUTHWEST review :  26 November 2008 : by S Cookson

Customer Rating : 4/5

BRS-LBA return. On-time flights, professional cabin crew, overall good value for money. There's plenty of legroom which makes the small interior of the DASH8 feel more spacious. I've flown Air Southwest a few times now and never had a problem.

AIR SOUTHWEST review :  28 October 2008 : by S Baxter

Customer Rating : 2/5

Newquay to Gatwick. Pleasant flight, and arrived 25 minutes early. Friendly, experienced cabin crew. Plenty of legroom on board Dash 8 aircraft, though main problem is that this small aircraft is extremely noisy on board - you need earplugs to concentrate on what you are reading! Nevertheless a good flight.

AIR SOUTHWEST review :  11 October 2008 : by P Jamieson

Customer Rating : 1/5

I checked in to the flight at Glasgow airport at approximately 1600, bound for Plymouth. Upon boarding the aircraft at 1730 the Pilot informed us that there would be a change to the route for ‘Operational Reasons’. The flight would now be routed via Leeds Bradford, Bristol and Newquay before eventually landing in Plymouth approximately one hour later then scheduled. Prior to arrival in Bristol the Pilot informed us that those passengers bound for Plymouth would have to change aircraft, as a direct flight to Plymouth was available. Passengers scheduled to fly to Newquay were to remain on the aircraft. Upon landing at Bristol we were moved from the aircraft to the departures lounge. Immediately on arrival in the departures lounge we were told that we would now be boarding a new flight that would depart Bristol at 2135 (one hour later) and would operate via Newquay. Prior to boarding the new aircraft at 2135 it was announced that the aircraft would only stop at Newquay due to adverse weather conditions and that ground transportation would take us the remainder of the journey to Plymouth. The flight itself to Newquay was far from comfortable, with the Pilot himself admitting that we may have to divert to Exeter if he could not land successfully in Newquay, owing to the poor weather. Furthermore the condition inside the plane was poor, my overhead light was cracked and held together by sellotape and the seat pocket was filled with rubbish. The flight eventually landed in Newquay, we were transferred to a coach and finally arrived in Plymouth at approximately midnight. (4 hours later then scheduled)

AIR SOUTHWEST review :  29 September 2008 : by A Loveday

Customer Rating : 5/5

Bristol to Leeds Bradford. I was impressed and flight crew are some of the nicest I have come across. Both outbound and return flights were on time, despite thick fog in Leeds. Few more routes and you got it cracked - just hope with the current gloomy economy Air Southwest manage to keep flying.

AIR SOUTHWEST review :  23 September 2008 : by T Jeans

Customer Rating : 5/5

MAN-NQY. Can't fault this flight. On this route, you are transferred at Bristol to a Leeds originating flight. Very well handled, but not great for the mobility-impaired. Excellent cabin crew who genuinely took an interest in their passengers, and more than made up for the basic drinks service. Flights to NQY always seem full, and you can see why.

AIR SOUTHWEST review :  28 August 2008 : by A Bailey

Customer Rating : 4/5

Gatwick to Newquay - check in to after security in lounge 6 minutes! Departed on time arrived on time, full flight, reasonable buy on board, friendly and smart crew. Another good flight on Air Southwest.

AIR SOUTHWEST review :  13 August 2008 : by James Fox

Customer Rating : 3/5

I have made several flights on Air Southwest in the last year. None have left on time, which has been inconvenient but not disastrous, but the feature on every flight has been the complete lack of communication from the airline. No guidance has been given as to whether the delay would be half an hour or four hours. On one occasion we were boarded on to a plane flown by a different airline, Titan, a 737 which was unable to land at Plymouth. The good news was that the crews were all pleasant and could speak English, unlike Ryanair.

AIR SOUTHWEST review :  7 August 2008 : by David Perman

Customer Rating : 5/5

LGW-NQY-LGW I fly this route on a regular commute to and from work on Monday mornings and Friday evenings and in 3 months have had little difficulty. Dash 8 aircraft used on this route are excellent, plenty of leg room. Cabin crew friendly and helpful.

AIR SOUTHWEST review : 2 August 2008 : by S Janes

Customer Rating : 4/5

NQY-LGW-NQY Excellent flights both ways from Newquay to Gatwick and then a month later from Gatwick to Newquay via Plymouth. Crew were very pleasant. Seats comfortable. Both flights were on time. Would certainly use this airline again as it is so much easier to travel this way from Cornwall to Gatwick than going by car or train.

AIR SOUTHWEST review : 7 July 2008 : by T Brumfield

Customer Rating : 1/5

I too was on a Dublin to Plymouth flight which was cancelled and a different aircraft took us from Dublin to Cork and then to Newquay and a minibus to Plymouth. Technical faults happen but the total lack of communication was a pain. Added to that, I had a business class ticket and none of the promised services were provided - I got a free glass of orange juice on board (the most expensive glass of orange juice ever at around £175 extra?) Very poor response to complaint. However, I have travelled with them to Gatwick a couple of times with no problems. Hope they get their act together soon or I can see Plymouth's airport closing due to lack of customers.

AIR SOUTHWEST review : 18 June 2008 : by Lorraine Doyle

Customer Rating : 1/5

Air Southwest does not seem to accept negative fee back too well. I wrote a letter some weeks ago complaining of my 9 hour delay from Newquay to Dublin and back - no explanation whatsoever! Anyone else experienced the same problem??

AIR SOUTHWEST review : 17 June 2008 : by R Milne

Customer Rating : 1/5

Arrived at Gatwick for Air Southwest flight to Newquay only to be told that the flight had been cancelled - and the only alternative was by coach. My 50 minute flight turned into seven hours. On my return flight from Newquay airport, noticed that there was a one hour delay to flight - I went through to departures - one hour delay only to be told that the plane had been cancelled and the alternative was a 16 seater mini bus. I have emailed Lyn Jones at Air Southwest but have had no reply which doesn't surprise me at all. I certainly would not recommend Air Southwest and wouldn't use them again myself.

AIR SOUTHWEST review : 10 June 2008 : by M Clarke

Customer Rating : 1/5

LGW-NQY. Flight overbooked. Apparently not usual for this airline. BA check in staff negotiated a seat on later plane (presumably at some other passenger's expense) and got me and another similarly afflicted lady in the BA lounge for our five hour wait. Return flight on Tuesday 28th and the next one were cancelled.

AIR SOUTHWEST review : 3 June 2008 : by Steve Garrett

Customer Rating : 1/5

LGW to Plymouth, 31 May 2008. Arrived at Gatwick this morning to be politely informed by handling agents that the flight to Plymouth was cancelled. Apparently, the aircraft had gone 'technical'? I was able to find out that the flight was less than half full and I suspect that it was cancelled for financial reasons. My 50 minute flight turned into a 5 hour bus journey. When I called the airline in Plymouth for help, they could not guarantee that the next flight would operate and were quite evasive with their answers and in addition, I was told to call a premium rate number to arrange an alternative booking. No help from the airline at Gatwick at all. BA act as handling agents and that is the end of their remit.

AIR SOUTHWEST review : 3 June 2008 : by F McLaughlan

Customer Rating : 3/5

NCL to Plymouth - Arrived at the airport in plenty time, 1 customer in front and had to wait 25 minutes. Not the fault of AirSouth West, the passenger carrying a baby had two pushchairs, three bags and unwilling to pay for the extra baggage. Once checked in, flight departed on time and arrived 10 minutes ahead of schedule. Nice touch not having to pay for putting luggage into the hold.

AIR SOUTHWEST review : 30 May 2008 : by N Fotheringill

Customer Rating : 4/5

GLA-PLH-GLA. The flight goes via Newquay and Titan Airways 737 had been sub-chartered to operate the service. 737s are unable to operate into Plymouth so we had to disembark at Newquay and complete the journey by bus. Despite this we arrived in Plymouth just an hour late - the bus ride through Cornwall was actually rather pleasant! Some passengers were moaning but Air Southwest had done their job with minimal inconvenience. The only criticism could be with the wrong information by the ground handling agents at Glasgow. The return flight to Glasgow operated as normal, a short ten minute hop to Newquay followed by an hour and a half to Glasgow. The Dash 8 is comfortable enough though a bit noisy (the early versions are not fitted with the noise suppression of the -400 series) and the service was perfectly acceptable.

AIR SOUTHWEST review : 7 May 2008 : by C Lee

Customer Rating : 5/5

LGW-NQY. Arrived in with BA from Salzburg, and transfered to Air Southwest evening flight to Newquay. There is no agreement for codesharing at the moment, but there is on domestic to domestic flights - so I had to recheck in. Crew seemed chatty as I boarded. Very loud take off as ever on the Dash 8. Cabin snack service shortly after take off, well priced cup of tea and flapjack for only £2.

Air Southwest review by R Curtis

16 April 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Have flown several times MAN-BRS and back, and never had any real problems. On two occasions I've booked for the Saturday 10:00 departure on Friday night, and apart from the check-in staff having to 'phone someone else to check another computer, this has not been a problem. Manchester is an interesting airport - they don't seem keen on allocating gates until aircraft are on the ground, so sometimes the quoted boarding time comes and goes with no word, and announcements can be a bit sparse, but this seems to be common for all flights out of Terminal 3. The last time I went down, there was a delay of approx. 20 minutes at Manchester - the incoming flight was late - and we were only told after going to the gate. I'm not sure if the staff at MAN are Air Southwest, or employed by some third party, but more information would be nice. Otherwise, every flight has been fine - the staff are always pleasant, and the journey is quick. BRS is ok - check-in and ground services are supplied by British Airways - and being a smaller airport arriving is very easy, and departing is pretty simple too. I notice other people have had problems with cancellations and serious delays, and from the comments Air Southwest sound pretty much like every other airline in those situations, but hopefully they'll continue the service level I've been able to experience so far.

Air Southwest review by J Williams

25 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating : n/a

LBA-NQY cancelled due to fog and rebooked at no charge on a later flight. The flights departed and arrived on time and cabin crew were professional. Being a turboprop plane, the flight is noisy. I have travelled with Air Southwest to Newquay 4 times in the past 12 months and other than several slight delays departing Newquay - the airport cannot handle any more than 2 flights leaving simultaneously - recommend them.

Air Southwest review by Christian Hodson

24 February 2008  Customer Trip Rating : n/a

I make frequent trips to Bristol from MAN to visit family and in the past have had to endure tedious journeys by train via Birmingham and even more horrendous journeys by road. As long as you are able to book in advance and make use of the £29.99 one way fares this is the way to travel. Check-in at MAN is advertised as opening 2 hours before the flight departure, but I was able to check in earlier than this for my last flight. The flight takes about 50 minutes and for such a short trip the service is friendly, professional and onboard drinks / snacks reasonably priced. I would agree with previous comments that the ride could be a little white knuckle if the weather is not great but I have been fortunate to have had clear skies and a nice view over the South West of England on the approach into Bristol. The only downside is that if you have to book a last minute ticket the prices are extortionate, regardless of how busy the flight is.

Air Southwest review by Andrew Wilson

15 August 2007  Customer Trip Rating : n/a

LBA-NQY-LBA flight a couple of times now and can recommend this airline. It beats the 5 or 6 hour slog on the motorways. The aircraft are ageing but appear well cared for with spotlessly clean cabins and comfy leather-look seats. Legroom not a problem. Cabin staff are pleasant and efficient. Only caveat - if you don't like turbulence this may not be for you - have had one or two white knuckle approaches/landings to Bristol and LBS!

Air Southwest review by Brenda McMillan
7 November 2006

This morning I arrived at the Southwest check in desk in Manchester Terminal 3 at 08.13 for the 08.45 flight Cardiff to find there was no one to check me in. The sign above the desk still said check in here for CARDIFF. I knew it was tight in timing, but there had been an accident on the M56 that delayed me and according to my E-confirmation my final check in time was 30 minutes before the flight left. On checking with the desks next to Air Southwest they said the lady had left the Southwest desk 10 minutes earlier. They kindly called someone who said the flight had not yet closed. They then made a further call and relayed that while I could go to the Southwest office in Terminal 1 and try to check in there Southwest where about to close the flight and I would be too late to get on it. This is the most bizarre concept of customer service I have heard of. The staff at the adjoining desks where all friendly and supportive and seemed embarrassed by the information they were relaying to me. I travel on business two or three times a week and this is the only time I have come across such a situation. I work for a large Bank and have already been assured that my organisation will get a refund for the ticket but would that be the case if I was an independent traveller? I have used Southwest several times before and had some measure of goodwill towards them - which has evaporated over this incident.

Air Southwest review by Gavin Stewart
12 October 2006

FA's great. Friendly, relaxed, happy. Feel a bit sorry for them sometimes. Increasingly, seems to be just one FA on some legs juggling many duties. Really quite entertaining, watching the poor girl sprint back and forth, yet still with great attitude. Come on Air Southwest, fares are not exactly super-cheap - stump up and put some more FA's on! Never had a problem, usually on time, cabin seats very comfy.

Air Southwest review by Glen Rennie
27 September 2006

Air Southwest 12:45 hrs departure from London Gatwick to Plymouth City on 23rd Sept 06 (returning the next day). Arrived in good time (two hours before departure) and proceeded to check-in which after a twenty minute queue was completed by friendly and chirpy British Airways staff. Continued through security and into departures area for something to eat. I kept watching the flight screens as my departure time came - and went - without any gate number or information and just as it reached my departure time it changed to "delayed to 13:45" (one hour delay). So back to the bar I went until 13:15 when I checked the screen again and it now said "delayed to 14:10" (one hour and twenty minutes delay). So back to the bar once again. At 13:50 I checked once again and this time it said "Will board gate 55" so off I went to the gate where we were called to board at 14:15 with no apology or information about the reason for the delay. The aircraft was clean and tidy and while I couldn't spend more than an hour or so in one I have no problems with the seats on Dash 8 aircraft. The captain made his announcement with a welcome, an apology and some route/weather information which was clear and concise. However, no real reason was given for the delays and he then dropped another delay on passengers by telling us of a "slight change of plan" for the flight! It was meant to fly Gatwick - Plymouth - Newquay but for reasons that he could not or would not tell us we were to fly Gatwick - Newquay - Plymouth adding further delay to my arrival in Plymouth. The flight itself was smooth enough and (as always) the cabin crew were friendly, efficient and welcoming. Air Southwest usually charge for refreshments but because of the delay one free drink was being offered - a nice gesture but I would rather have been on time! I finally arrived in Plymouth at 16:00 (two hours and fifteen minutes late) having taken the scenic route via newquay and not actually been told why! The whole journey from check-in to arrival took over five hours by which time I could have been there by train at half the price! This airline started well (see the first ever Air Southwest post - made by myself in 2004) but recent experience has proved that they are loosing it! The staff are great but the time keeping and customer information is appalling! In my first post I said "I just hope that they can maintain this high level of service as they expand and grow in the future" - it would appear that they could not!